...Yu Darvishthanks the fans for their support over the year on his personal blog.

Orix Buffaloes

...Chihiro Kanekowill be holding a 3-day fast. This will be the third straight off-season he has incorporated fasting into his training program.

"There are no visible changes that I can think of, but you do lose weight. It's a way to rest the internal organs that have been abused during the season, a way to heal the body from within," said Kaneko.

...The Buffaloes will likely meet with So Taguchi after 11/20 (when the MLB window of exclusivity closes).

...The Buffaloes are taking a look at ex-Hanshin Tiger Rick Guttormson (currently pitching for the KIA Tigers in the KBO).

Brown has placed limits of about 100 pitches on his starters and Tanaka appears to think that throwing less will allow him a better shot at staying healthy over the course of a full season.

"Of course, I don't mind pushing myself a little when it's needed," said Tanaka. "But it isn't like I can go full throttle over the course of a full season. I just really want to stay healthy so that I can stay in the rotation."

He also added, "I heard from the trainers that pitchers that toss 200+ innings tend not to do very well the following season."

Tanaka took off to the States with Satoshi Nagai and Shinichiro Koyama on Sunday for an overhaul. They will be training at facility in Arizona that's used by a number of Majors Leaguers, including Randy Johnson.

"I want to see what kind of training methods they use in the States and add the good ones into my own training program. It's possible I may even train on my own next year," said Tanaka.

"I surprised to see howDarvish held the Giants down using a curve during the Nippon Series. It would make things easier for me if I can get ahead in the count using off-speed / breaking pitches," said Sato.